Wall board



@gm/a Feb. 21,1928. 1,659,877

\ WUM. JENKINS 1 WALL BOARD Filed Aug, 1, 1921 ffy Patented' Feb. 2l, 1928.

UNITED STATES wmnux n. mums,

or omesso, mLnwoIs.

'WALLy BOARD.

Application illed August 1, y1921. Serial No. 488,749.

This invention' relates in general to wall boards, or, as they are -frequently termed plaster boards, adapted for use in `building constructions whereink the boards are secured usually by nails to studding or cross stringers, to form upright walls and ceilings `to which the plaster is applied. lVall boards of this general type now in use customarily comprise a composition body composed of gypsum, wood, or other fibre, mixed with water, and a drier, which hastens the setting of the gypsum. This body is customarily mixed to a` plastic condition, rolled to va thickness of not less than threeeighths of an inch, and enclosed in a paper sheathing or envelope, the marginal edges of which are overlapped adjacent one edge of the board. `The edges of these boards are customarily more or less rounded, due to the fact that in applying the paper coveringthe plastic composition of the body when the paper is drawn taut, naturall assumes a curved contour at the edges. urthermore, the overlap or line of juncture .of the edges of the paper envelope being disposed adjacent one edge of the board, resultsy in a tendency of the outer edge of the paper to become loosened and' torn as the result of handling of the boards. This loosening` not only detracts from the smoothness of the boards, but actually weakens them alon the edges where the nails are driven throug and where the board should be strongest, and as the result, the boards frequently crack and break out at vthe edges when they are bein vnailed in position.

One o the primary purposes of my present invention is to provide a wall board, having a composition body and a paper covering, in which the overlap of' the margins of t e paper will be disposed intermediate the edges of the board instead of at one edge thereof, so that both edges of the body will be completely enclosed and will not be weakened by a loose edge ot' paper, and furthermore, by positioning the overlap at the center instead of at the edge of the board, the liability of the overlapping margin of paper becoming loose and torn is very materially reduced. To further obviate against loosening of this overlapping edge of the covering, my invention contemplates the application of an adhesive to the inner face o this margin by which the margin is secured and bound in position.

Another purpose of my invention 1s to strengthen the body structure of the board by incorporatin in the body composition thereof, suitab e metal reinforcements, which add to the strength and rigidity of the board and materially reduce the liability of cracking resulting nails throughthe board.

Still another object is to produce angular i corners at the ed es of the board so that adjacent boards will lie close together `and form a relatively tight and smoothjoint, as distinguished from the rough and somewhat-'open joint necessarily resulting from the round-edged boards heretofore employed. l

` Another feature of my invention resides in reinforcing the ledges. of the board by applying to the edges of the composition body during the construction thereof, and

before the paper wrapper is applied, a reinforcement of `suitable character, which not only` strengthens the board at this point, but

also contributes toward the formation of` even angular corners.

Still another pur se of the invention is to provide a boar with laminated edges through which nails may be driven to secure the board in place without danger of cracking, plitting or injuringthe margins of the Other objects' and many of the inherent advantages of my invention will be readilyy appreciated as the same becomes better `un derstood, by reference to the following defrom the driving of scription, when considered Ain connection with the accompan ing drawings.

Referring to the rawings:

1 is a perspective view on a small scale of `a wall board embodying my invention;

Figs. 2 to 8 inclusive are cross-sectional views showing the various features of my invention individually embodied in a wall board; `and Fig. 9 is a similar view of a board with various features of my invention embodied therein.

Referring now to the drawin s more in detail, `reference character 11 designates the body of my improved board which is formed of composition, having as its principal in' gredient gypsum, which is mixed with iibrous material, water, and suitable harden ing 4material to form a plastic mass, com monly known as f stucco. Inv the manu,- fact'ure of the board, this plastic stucco mwlos is formed into afflat body'or sheet, which by reason of the construction of my improved board, may be materially thinner than the boards now in customary luse, which are substantially three-eighths of an inch thick. By suitable machinery, this mass is laid upon a traveling sheet of paper, which, by a suitable mechanism, is folded over around the stucco masswhich is simultaneously shaped to the proper, form and dimensions, the paper being adapted to provide the covering or envelope 12 completely` surrounding and enclosing the top, bottom, and side edges of the board.

Instead of overlapping the margins of the paper envelope at or adjacent to one edge of the board, as is customary, the paper sheet is so arranged and manipulated during the manufacture of my improved board, that the joint formed by the overlapping of the outer margin 13 upon the inner margin 14, is disposed intermediate the side edges of the board. l When the joint is so disposed, the edges of the board are not weakened by a joint in the envelope, and furthermore, the

customary tendency of the outer overlapping margin of the envelope to curl back and become torn and broken, 1s obviated, smce in the handlingof the boards, the centrally `disposed joint is notsubject to becoming torn and injured as it is when exposed at the edge of the board. The edges of the board, therefore, are smooth and fully enclosed in the envelope,`and are considerably stronger than the edges of the boards in which the envelope joint occurs at the margin of the board.' In. order to further insure a tight joint between the overlapping paper edges, I prefer to apply an adhesive between these overlapping margins, which binds them securely in position. The adhesive may be applied either to the outer face of the inner margin or the inner face of the outer margin, as preferred, during the manufacture of the board.

` Instead of joining the overlapped margins of the paper covering `by an adhesive, as above suggested, it may ,in some instances be preferable to employ the plastic material of the body itself as the binder between these edges, and in such cases, the inner margin 14 is, during the manufacture of the board, depressed into the body'of the material, as shown in Fig. 3, and `some of the plastic material is forced over the outer face of said margin and between the margins 13 and 1.4so that this material itself serves as a. binder to lock said overlapped edges together.

While the board may be made without reinforcement, as disclosed in Fig. 1, it is nevertheless preferable in many instances, to strengthen the board by reinforcing the composition body. One. form of reinforcement shown in Fig. 2 consists of a series of longitudinally extending reinforcing members 15 in the shape of wires or rods of the required dimensions, which may be imbedded in any desired position in the body, but for purposes of illustration, are shown as disposed adjacent the top and bottom faces thereof.

InvFig. 4, another form of reinforcement consisting of a wire mesh fabric 16, is shown, and in this instance, two plies of such mesh are imbedded in the body, one adjacent the upper, and the other adjacent the lower face of the board. These reinforcements materially strengthen the body and prevent it from cracking or chipping when nails are driven through, particularly near the edges of the board.

In Fig. 5, a similar wire mesh reinforcement 17 is shown, but in this instance, instead of being disposed adjacent the faces of the board, it is positioned substantially in the center thereof midwav between the faces, where it performs a similar function to the double reinforcement shown in Fig. 4, and since only one half the amount of reinforcement is utilized in this instance, the cost of production of the board is consequently less.

In order to strengthen the board at the edges, I may position at each edge of the body a longitudinally extending reinforcing stri 18, as shown in Fig. 6, which may be ma e of fibrous material, or even of metal, if preferred. These stri s, in addition to strengthening the board), serve to insure angular junctures at the corners of the board between the side edges and the top and bottom. Such angular corners are desirable and much preferable to the customary rounded corners, since when the boards are laid close together, edge to edge, a close tting smooth joint is secured instead of the rough depressed joint which necessarily ensues from the use of round-edged boards.

While in Figs. 1 to 6 previously described,

I have shown the corners of the board as rectangular, it may be desirable in some instances to have the side edges inclined with respect to the plane of the top and bottom faces, as shown in Fig. 7 wherein the side edges 19 and21 are shown converging. This angularity of the edges with respect to the planes of the board faces permits a slightly overlapped joint when two boards are placed edge to edge, but when constructed as shown in Fig. 7, obviously in order to insure the overlapping joint, alternate boards must be laid with their bottoms outwardly. Should it be preferable to have all of the envelope joints formed by the overlapping margins 13 and 14 disposed inwardly, then the side edges of the boards may be parallel instead of converging, but still disposed at an angle tothe faces of the board.l

In order to provide a board which will possess a maximum of strength along its edges, and one which will not chip, crack, or in any Wise become injured by the driving of nails therethrough adjacent the edges, my invention contemplates a board having laminated edges, as shown in Fi 8. These edges are composed of a plura ity of plies 22 of preferably fibrous material, which may be laid in contiguous relation, as shown., or they may be slightly separated with a space between filled with the composition of the body.- In order to insure an interlock between these laminated edges and the body of the board, one or more of the plies or laminations are extended into the body, and for purposes of illustration, I have shown the top and bottom plies so extended, and bonded with the composition body of the board.

While any one or more of the various features above described may be embodied in any board, I have shown in Fig. 9, a board in which the various features are combined to provide an extremely strong and durable structure. In this` board, the composition body 11 is reinforced not only with the Wire or rod reinforcement 15, but also with the centrally disposed Wire mesh reinforcement 17. The edges of the board are formed of lalninations 22 interlocked and bonded with the composition body, and the extreme edges are further strengthened by the longitudinally extending reinforcing strips 18. These strips are disposed obliquely with respect to the faces of the board, thus permitting the attainment of the overlapping joints between adjacent boards, as previously explained. The whole structure is surrounded and enclosed in the envelope 12, the mariginal edges 13 and 14; of which form a joint intermediate the side edges of the board possessing the advantages heretofore mentioned.

It is believed that my invention, its construction, andadvantages Will be understood from the foregoing without further description, and it should be manifest that the structural details may be varied within considerable limits Without'exceeding the s'cope of the invention, as defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A wall board, comprising a composition body, reenforcing means disposed along an edge of said body, and covering material surrounding said body including the reenforced `edge thereof.

2. A wall board, comprising a composition body, a sheath enclosing the same, and` reenforcing means extending along an edge of said body Within said sheath.

3. A Wall board, comprising a body reenforced at the edges thereof, and a sheath enclosing said body including said reenforced edges. i

4. A wall board, comprising a composition body, means for reinforcing the 1ongitudinal edges ofsaid body, and a sheet of covering material surrounding said body and reinforcing means.

5. A wall1 board, comprising a composition body, reinforcing strips extending longitudinally of the body at the edges thereof, and a one piece sheet of covering material enclosing said bod and said strips.

6. A Wall boar comprising a composition bodyhaving reinforced edges inclined with respect tothe plane of said board, and a sheet of covering material surrounding said body and having its edges overlapped remote from the edges of the board.

7. A Wall board, comprising a composition body provided with laminated edges, and a covering enclosing said body.

8. A Wall board, comprising a compost tion body reinforced at each edge with laminations and enclosed in a sheet of coveringr material.

9. A wall board, comprising a body formed of composition and provided at its edges with laminated sheets interlocked with said composition, and a paper covering surrounding said body.

10. A wall board, ,comprising a composition body provided with laminated margins. reinforclng members at the edges of said margins, and a sheet of covering materiar enclosing said body.

11. A Wall board, comprising a composition body, reenforcing strips extending along an edge of the body, and a sheet of covering material enclosing` said reenforced edge.

12. A wall board, comprising a composition body having reenforced beveled edges, and an envelo e of covering material surrounding said dy.

13, A wall board, comprising a flatcomposition body provided with a laminated reenforced margin joined to the composition by a tongue and groove connection.

14. A wall board, comprising a flat con1- position body, covering material disposed over the flat faces thereof, and reenforcing strips extending longitudinally of the body and dove-tailed to the composition to provide a reenforced margin for the board.

15. A Wall board, comprising a. composi tion body provided with a laminated edge and a reinforcing element inclosing said edge and extending over said body beyond the inner edge of the laminae.

WILLIAM M. JENKINS. 

